


Stronger

by dreamchapel



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drabble, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, basically fuck xehanort, vaguely
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 17:11:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20231428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamchapel/pseuds/dreamchapel
Summary: //Never Apart AUAn AU in which Ventus and Vanitas were split, but never separated from each other, and had to deal with Xehanort's torment together.Alternate title: I Made Myself Very Sad





	Stronger

“I’m scared, Vanitas.”

The soft, shaky murmur barely pushed its way through Ventus’s lips. He trembled and shuddered in Vanitas’s arms, his muscles too weak and strained to even support his own body weight.   
Vanitas tightened his grip, not daring to let Ventus go as the young boy weakly lifted a hand to rest on his cheek. 

“I-I’m scared, Vanitas…,” Ventus repeated as his eyes began to well up with tears.  
Vanitas nuzzled closer to Ventus, gently stroking the soft, messy blonde strands of hair that covered Ventus’s head. 

“P-please, it’s okay, Ventus…,” Vanitas’s voice shook as a pained wail tried to crawl its way out of his throat. 

“I’ll… I’ll protect you… I won’t let you be the one to hurt today… I’ll take it for you, I promise… you’ll be okay…,” Vanitas sniffed as his last words came out in a choked sob. Seeing Ventus this broken, this hurt…

It made him want to _ die _.

But he couldn't. He wouldn't. If he wasn't there, then there’d be nobody to take Ventus’s pain away. There’d be no one to endure the sharp, cold blows of a Keyblade for him, and no one to protect him from the painful kicks and stomps into the dry, hard ground beneath.   
There’d be no one to give him any hope of salvation, any hope of freedom from his suffering.  
_  
And, there’d be no one to do any of that for Vanitas, either. _

Vanitas blinked slowly and let out a sigh over the statement passing through his mind.

_No _ , he told himself. _ Ventus doesn’t need to do _ anything _ for me. I live for him, and that alone is _everything.

Vanitas snapped out of his thoughts as he felt the delicate touch of Ven’s fingertips against his skin leave. His heart lurched, immediately aching for the warmth that was no longer resting upon his cheek.  
A smile had spread across Ven’s face.

It didn't fool Vanitas.

He could see the agony in Ven’s eyes, the silent pleading that begged Vanitas not to put himself in harm’s way for the sake of protecting him.   
Those pleas never made their way to Ven’s mouth. 

“One day…,” Ven began, his voice raspy and hoarse. “One day… we’ll both be strong enough to fight back… we’ll both be strong enough to leave this place…” 

Vanitas bit his lip as stinging tears slid down his cheeks. His lungs could no longer keep up with his sharp, quick breaths. He clenched his eyes tightly shut and let out an ear-piercing cry, gripping Ven tighter to himself than ever before. The resounding wails of pain that he had been holding back from beating upon beating poured out all at once, splitting the empty air that surrounded the two lonely, broken beings.   
Ventus stared blankly up at Vanitas, his mind too clouded with hurt and sadness to truly process what was happening anymore. 

Suddenly, the crying stopped.  
The sound of approaching footsteps cracking the dry soil beneath had replaced it.  
  
Vanitas and Ventus immediately whipped their heads around on instinct, though their minds screamed at them not to.  
There stood that towering, shadowy figure, his coat fluttering lightly in the wind and that cold, sharp Keyblade gripped tightly in his right hand. 

“Really?”   
The low grumble that came from the man was barely audible. 

“I’ve trained you both time and time again to withstand your emotions, and this is still where you’re at after everything?” 

Vanitas flinched as the man suddenly closed in on him. He yelped as he was kicked in the chest and shoved away from Ven. A pained moan was all that Ven was able to muster in response.

“M-Master Xehanort, please, I’m begging you, don't battle him today!” Vanitas cried, his voice quaking as sickly dread and panic clawed at his torn heart.

“I’ll battle you instead! I’ll-I’ll show you! I’ll show you how strong I’ve gotten!” Vanitas didn't even attempt to sound any less pathetic in that moment. Xehanort raised an eyebrow and frowned as he stared intently at the shivering, crying boy that sat at his feet. 

“Fine, Vanitas,” Xehanort’s cold voice felt as though it was stabbing into Vanitas’s skull.

“But you’ll need to show me much more than anything else you’ve ever done after that _ pathetic _display.”   
  
Vanitas bit his already-raw cheeks as he stumbled to his feet, summoning his own Keyblade, Void Gear. 

“Vanitas…”

Vanitas shot a quick glance behind him upon hearing his name spoken. Ven was leaning on his bruised elbows, feebly trying to lift himself up. 

“Please…” Ven’s voice was barely there, his rattled whispers being the only sound that could convey his feelings.

“I won't… let you…,” he groaned as he raised a shaky, bruised hand, slowly reaching towards Vanitas.

Before he could react, Vanitas felt the all-too-familiar sting of pain and pressure hit his chest as Xehanort swung No Name into him, knocking him to the ground once more. He shrieked when he landed, another intensely sharp pain coursing its way through his body from his right arm. He had landed on it at an awkward angle, and his screams continued as the pain only grew.  
Xehanort simply scowled, huffing as he focused on Ventus this time.

“Fortunately for you, Ventus, it looks as though you won’t have to worry about Vanitas today. He seems to no longer be in the state to use a Keyblade, at least until he can figure out how to swing with his other arm,” Xehanort cackled at his final statement and aimed the end of his weapon point-blank at Ventus.

Vanitas writhed on the ground, clutching his right arm with all the strength he had left in a fruitless attempt to alleviate the pain.   
Ven choked out a sob as he witnessed this. He glanced back towards Xehanort, and in a matter of seconds, all he could see was red. 

Despite having been pushed to his limit prior, he lunged upwards and tackled Xehanort with his bare hands. His muscles screamed at him through extreme pricks of pain, but he had lost any sense of care for his own well-being as he landed blow upon blow onto his master.   
He felt a tight grip wrap around his throat and was lifted off the ground effortlessly by Xehanort. Ven clawed desperately at his neck, trying to pull away the hand that began choking him. His legs flailed as Xehanort carried him towards Vanitas’s curled up body. 

Vanitas screamed out in horror at the sight. 

“_LET GO OF HIM!!_” Vanitas’s throat burned from the intensity of his own shrieking. 

He jumped up, grabbing Ven’s shoulder with his good arm and pulled him out of Xehanort’s grasp. Xehanort let go and cracked a smile as Ven’s frail body hit the ground and tumbled next to Vanitas. 

“Now, _ that’s _what I’ve wanted to see from you, boy!” He adjusted his coat and brushed off the dust that covered it. “I certainly didn't think you’d ever be strong enough to come at me without any weapon! Congratulations, Ventus!” The old man chuckled and folded his arms behind his back, stepping away casually as though nothing had happened. 

“I’ll leave you two boys to yourselves for today. You’ve earned it!” 

With that, Xehanort left the two broken beings alone once more.   
Both of their cheeks were soaked with tears and sweat, and Vanitas was still groaning from the pain in his broken arm. 

Ven felt as though his body was falling apart. His muscles were numb, his nerves shot from the strain and his mind blurred from the experience.   
In his dazed state, though, he still crawled towards Vanitas until he rested on top of him, shielding him from the blazing heat of the sun that had reached its peak in the sky.   
He pressed a gentle, soft kiss against Vanitas’s broken arm, careful not to cause anymore pain. 

“I’m sorry…” Ven’s voice was nearly absent, his throat raw and aching from both his screams and Xehanort’s tight hold against it.

“I’m so, so sorry I let this happen, Vanitas…” Tears fell once more from Ven’s cloudy green eyes. “I will… I will… get stronger for you… I swear…” 

Ven passed out on top of his partner, his senses leaving him quickly.  
They remained long enough, however, to feel the light touch of Vanitas’s left arm wrapping around him, and to hear the soft “ _ shh _” that came from his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> this is a oneshot for now, this AU MAY be turned into a series/chapter fic though!!! just know if it does it ends up being super recovery-based and gets a lot better in the end post-xehanort hell


End file.
